▪ I. zone, n.
(zəʊn)
Also 6–7 zoane.
[ad. L. zōna, a. Gr. ζώνη girdle (ζωννύναι to gird). Cf. F. zone (from 12th c.), It., Sp., Pg. zona.]
1. Geog., etc. a. Each of the five ‘belts’ or encircling regions, distinguished by differences of climate, into which the surface of the earth (and, in ancient cosmography, the celestial sphere) is divided by the tropics (of Cancer and Capricorn) and the polar (arctic and antarctic) circles; viz. the torrid († burning, † burnt, † hot) zone between the tropics, the (north and south) temperate zones extending from the tropics to the polar circles, and the frigid († frozen, † cold) zones (arctic and antarctic) within the polar circles.
The arctic and antarctic zones are strictly not ‘belts’ but circular ‘caps’ with the poles in the centre.
| a 1500 Hist. K. Boccus & Sydracke (? 1510) U iv, For thre zones [Laud MS. thre wonynges] shal he fynde Where no man may lyue in one kynde One is hote and colde are two. 1551 Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 64 The olde Cosmographers..called all that space betweene the twoo Tropykes, the Burnynge Zone... And of eche syde of it, they noted twoo Zones,..whiche they called the Frosen zones,..and betweene those Frosen zones, & the Burning zone, they appointed two Temperat zones. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 298 The could zone or clime was condemned to perpetuall snowe. 1594 Blundevil Exerc., Mercator (1597) 208 The hotte Zone is that which lyeth betwixt the two Tropiques. 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. i. 304 Till our ground Sindging his pate against the burning Zone, Make Ossa like a wart. 1652–62 Heylin Cosmogr. Introd. (1674) 19/2 The parts next the Torrid Zone are the hotter, and the parts next the Frigid Zone are the colder. 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 55 The Sun, with Rays directly darting down, Fires all beneath, and fries the middle Zone. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 38 The feathered inhabitants of the temperate zone are but little remarkable for the beauty of their plumage. 1869 Rawlinson Anc. Hist. 53 Africa belongs almost entirely to the torrid zone. |
b. Any region extending around the earth and comprised between definite limits,
e.g. between two parallels of latitude. Also
Astron. applied to a similar region in the heavens or on the surface of a planet or the sun.
| 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 64 Do you not in this Figure call euery portion betwixt two paralleles: a zone?.. Yes verely. 1578 T. Twyne tr. Daneau's Workm. World 61 Those fiue quarters and zones, which the Astronomers doe describe in heauen, and vppon the earth. 1692 [see 3 b]. 1860 Maury Phys. Geog. (Low) iv. §205 We have, extending entirely around the earth, two zones of perpetual winds. Ibid. §355 On the north side of this calm zone of Cancer. 1890 C. A. Young Elem. Astron. §190 The spots are confined mostly to two zones of the sun's surface between 5° and 40° of north and south latitude. |
2. a. More or less vaguely: A region or tract of the world,
esp. in relation to its climate; also
fig.| 1599 Sir J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 5 We that acquaint our selues with euery Zoane, And passe both Tropikes, and behold the Poles. a 1628 F. Grevil Sidney iv. (1907) 39 Her nature hard to imitate, and diversly worshipped, according to Zones, complexions, or education. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 397 We may..in some milde Zone Dwell not unvisited of Heav'ns fair Light Secure. 1772 Monthly Rev. XLII. 190/2 'Midst Lapland's live-long snows, Or India's burning zone. 1856 Vaughan Mystics vi. vi, It has been theirs..to encounter the perilous fervours of that zone where never cooling cloud appears to veil insufferable radiance. 1870 A. O'Shaughnessy Epic Wom., Seraphitus i, Some Spirit from a zone Of light, and ecstasy, and psalm. |
b. A definite region or area of the earth, or of any place or space, distinguished from adjacent regions by some special quality or condition (indicated by a defining word or phrase); also
fig. Often in technical use; see also 4 b, 5, 6, 7.
| 1822 Mantell Foss. S. Downs 298 This occurrence of the more ancient deposits, within a zone of chalk hills. 1835 Thirlwall Greece I. i. 29 Greece lies in a volcanic zone, which extends from the Caspian..to the Azores. 1837 Brewster Magnet. 222 The zone of easterly diurnal variations. 1849 Paton Highl. Adriatic II. xix. 253 The wide-scattered city, with its zone of the glacis, is the foreground of the view. 1852 E. Yates Elem. Strat. 9 Every theatre of war is supposed to be divided into three Zones... These are called Zones of Operation, and are distinguished as the Right, Left, and Central. 1873 Daily News 2 Aug., That all extensions should be performed before entering within the fire zone. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. s.v., The zone of defence signifies a belt of ground in front of the general contour of the works within effective range of the artillery on the ramparts... Zone of fire, a term synonymous with range or trajectory. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss. s.v., In a shaft-furnace, the different portions (horizontal sections) are called zones, and characterized according to the reactions which take place in them, as the zone of fusion. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal M., Zone, in coal-mining phraseology, this word signifies a certain series of coal seams, with their accompanying shales, &c. 1902 Times 24 Nov. 5/2 Beyond the rain zone dead scrub and lifeless trees alone meet the eye. |
c. (
Town)
Planning. A district or an area of land subject to particular restrictions concerning use and development.
| 1909 H. I. Triggs Town Planning iv. 177 The usual method in formulating town building plans on a large scale is to divide the urban area into building zones. 1910 F. Howkins Housing Acts 1890–1909, & Town Planning ix. 125 Certain portions of the area would be reserved for the erection of better class residences... This would be similar to the ‘zone’ system which has been adopted in certain towns on the Continent. 1939 H. M. Lewis City Planning xvi. 166 A single map will show the subdivision of the area into zones, which in a typical case might be defined as follows: One family zones. Two family zones. [etc.]. 1953 [see smokeless a. 2]. 1964 J. S. Scott Dict. Building 364 Certain areas can be kept for light industry, others for heavy industry, dwellings, offices..and so on, each area being called a zone. |
d. N. Amer. Football and
Basketball. A specific area of the court to be defended by a particular player; also, a mode of defensive play employing this system (
cf. zone defence, sense 10 a below).
| 1927 G. S. Warner Football Coaches & Players 191 In the zone defense the players playing back of the line of scrimmage..are so stationed that they can knock down or intercept any pass that comes into their territory or zone. 1942 C. Bee Zone Defense & Attack i. 1 Certain coaches believe only the ‘zone’ can be called a team defense. 1964 Anderson & Albeck Coaching Better Basketball ix. 209 You cannot win consistently..utilizing the zone. 1971 L. Koppett N.Y. Times Guide to Spectator Sports iii. 83 Each player is given a specific portion of the floor as ‘his territory’, and he guards, in turn, any offensive player who enters his ‘zone’. 1979 Farmington (New Mexico) Daily Times 27 May 8a/7 The defense must be a man-to-man with no presses or zones allowed. |
e. Any one of those areas of Germany and Austria occupied by British, American, French, or Russian forces after the war of 1939–45 until 1955. Subsequently
occas. applied to East German territory; also
transf.| 1945 Times 13 Feb. 4/1 The conference of Mr. Churchill, President Roosevelt, and Marshal Stalin, held at Yalta, in the Crimea, has drawn up military plans for the final defeat of Germany... The forces of the three Powers will each occupy a separate zone of Germany, and a central control commission will have headquarters in Berlin. France will be invited to take a zone of occupation. 1947 Daily Tel. 25 Sept. 5/8 German machinery..will be delivered to Hungary in the next three months under a trade agreement signed between Hungary and the Soviet zone of Germany. 1954 W. Faulkner Fable 128 Frenchmen..had been spending their leaves..among the combat-troop rest-billets not only throughout the entire French Army zone, but the American and the British ones too. 1956 Ann. Reg. 1955 iii. v. 223 Some political leaders expressed the view that German interests would be furthered by direct negotiations with the Soviet Union, and that it would ease conditions for the people of the Soviet Zone if there was limited collaboration with the East German authorities. 1963 ‘J. le Carré’ Spy who came in from Cold xiii. 127 The GDR... The Zone if you prefer. 1964 L. Deighton Funeral in Berlin vii. 50 Not too near the Sektor boundary and within a mile of the Soviet Zone... Sometimes we prefer to put our cargo on ice in the zone... Anywhere from Lübeck to Leipzig. 1976 W. D. Graf German Left since 1945 iii. 77 This movement aimed at the restoration of German unity... It was founded on the basis of proposals put forward by the communist leadership in the Soviet Zone. |
3. a. A girdle or belt, as a part of dress. (Chiefly
poetic.) Hence, any encircling band.
| 1608 B. Jonson Masques, Beauty Wks. (1616) 906 Germinatio. In greene; with a Zone of gold about her Wast. 1635 Quarles Embl. v. viii. 40 Shall these course hands untie The sacred Zone of thy Virginitie? 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. II. iii. 13 This was the first place where he untyed his zone since he fled from Athens..So great was his fear. 1742 Young Nt. Th. v. 30 Wit calls the Graces the chaste zone to loose. a 1806 H. K. White To My Lyre vii, Dear to me the classic zone, Which..Adorns th' accepted bard. 1839 E. D. Clarke's Trav. Russia 83/1 It was a zone for the leg, or bracelet for the arm, of the purest massive gold. 1869 Lecky Europ. Mor. II. v. 338 To the fabled zone of beauty the Christian saints opposed their zones of chastity. 1883 Hardy in Longman's Mag. July 258 The carters with a zone of whipcord round their hats. |
b. A money-belt or purse.
| 1692 Washington tr. Milton's Def. People ix. 212 How many Zones you observed in that Golden and Silken Heaven of the King's, I know not; but I know you got one Zone (a Purse) well tempered with a Hundred Golden Stars by your Astronomy. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. viii, The zone of the ex-trooper, to use Horace's phrase, was weighty enough to purchase a cottage. |
c. Astron. The girdle of Orion.
| 1599 T. Hill Schoole of Skil 92 The constellation named the Zone or gyrdle of Orion. |
4. a. Something that encircles like a girdle; a circumscribing or inclosing line, band, or ring.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 71 Round about him he so closely cleaves With's wrything body; that his Enemy..Hastes to some Tree, or to some Rock, whereon To rush and rub-off his detested zone. 1620 T. Peyton Glasse of Time i. 50 With twelue braue gates the curious eye to fill, The sacred luster as the glistring Zoane, And euery gate fram'd of a seuerall stone. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 257 The moon..set With modest grandeur in thy [sc. Evening's] purple zone. 1840 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 144/1 Below the entablature is a band or zone, formed of large stones and bricks placed alternately. 1856 W. Clark Van der Hoeven's Zool. I. 93 Tentacles disposed in a zone around the mouth. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxii. 154 A tendency to form circular zones round the sun. 1895 Bridges Ode to Music iv. i, His [sc. the sea's] world-wide elemental moan Girdeth our lives with tragic zone. |
b. A band or stripe of colour, or of light or shade, extending around something, or (
loosely) over any surface or area; often, any one of a number of concentric or alternate markings of this kind.
| 1752 J. Hill Hist. Anim. 131 The outer surface of the whole shell [of the Buccinum]..is of a pale brownish colour, elegantly variegated with a great number of yellow zones. 1805 Shaw Nat. Misc. XVI. pl. 657 Long-tailed green Parrot, with..the collar on the nape and abdominal zone yellow. 1816 R. Jameson Syst. Min. (ed. 2) II. 146 All such white marbles as are marked with green-coloured zones, caused by talc or chlorite. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 556 When Jupiter is viewed through a good telescope, we perceive a number of zones or belts, of a darker colour than the rest of his disc. 1833 Sir C. Bell Hand (1834) 311 If we press upon the eye-ball with a key or the end of a pencil-case, zones of light are excited. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn vi, The atrium glowed in zones of light. |
5. Astron. A region or belt of the sky comprised between definite limits,
e.g. between two parallels of declination.
| 1795 Herschel in Phil. Trans. LXXXV. 381 My examinations of the heavens in zones. 1829 Chapters Phys. Sci. 413 That broad zone called the milky-way. 1890 A. M. Clerke Syst. Stars xxiv. 377 The general plan of nebular distribution is into vast assemblages, one on either side of the galactic zone. |
6. Anat.,
Zool., and
Bot. A growth or structure surrounding or encircling some part in the form of a ring or cylinder; also, a region or area extending around or over some part and distinguished by some special character or condition.
With various defining words applied
spec. to particular structures or regions.
ciliary zone,
motor zone: see these words.
zone of Zinn: see
zonule.
| 1811 C. Bell Anat. Hum. Body (ed. 3) III. 468 These tubercles are..surrounded by a zone or disk, of a brownish red colour, the areola. 1849 A. H. Hassall Microsc. Anat. Hum. Body I. 514 Ciliary processes.—These processes..are received into corresponding folds or plaitings of the hyaloid membrane, called the secondary ciliary processes, and which taken altogether form a circle around the crystalline lens named after their discoverer the Zone of Zinn. 1882 Wilder & Gage Anat. Technol. §1421 The cornea..is..intermediate in thickness between that of the white zone and the rest of the sclerotic. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 7 The periblem, which is a zone of tissue lying between the plerome and dermatogen. 1913 Dorland Med. Dict. s.v., Abdominal z[one]s, the three zones into which the surface of the abdomen is divided by the subcostal and intertubercular lines... Pellucid z., the zona pellucida. |
7. Geol. and
Physical Geogr. A region, or each of a series of regions, comprised between definite limits of any kind,
e.g. of depth or height, and distinguished by special characters,
esp. by characteristic fossils or forms of animal and plant life.
| 1829 Ure New Syst. Geol. 150 In the north [of France], it [sc. limestone] forms a portion of the great transition zone, which stretches from Flanders into the Hartz. 1839 Murchison Silur. Syst. i. ii. 17 The presence of this zone of clay..is marked by the outburst of water. 1851 Amer. Jrnl. Sci. Ser. ii. XI. 263 This cretaceous zone of the shore of the Cantabrian sea. 1882 Geikie Text-bk. Geol. vi. 635 A bed, or limited number of beds, characterized by one or more distinctive fossils, is termed a zone or horizon. |
8. a. Math. A part of the surface of a sphere contained between two parallel planes, or of the surface of any solid of revolution contained between two planes perpendicular to the axis.
b. Cryst. A series of faces of a crystal extending around it and having their lines of intersection parallel.
| 1795 Hutton Math. Dict. II. 477/2 The curve-surface of any segment or zone of a Sphere, is also equal to the curve surface of a cylinder of the same height with that portion, and of the same diameter with the Sphere. 1867 Thomson & Tait Nat. Phil. §781 I. 621 These circles..are..all in parallel planes..and cut the spherical surface into zones. 1868 Dana Min. (ed. 5) Introd. p. xxvi, The planes [of a crystalline form] may thus be viewed as lying in vertical zones, a different zone for every ratio of the lateral axes. 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 21 These four vertical faces constitute what is called a zone (or girdle) of the form. 1895 Palmer tr. Nernst's Theor. Chem. 67 The ‘law of zones’,..viz. all planes which can occur on a crystal are related to each other in zones; or, in other words, from any four planes, no three of which lie in one zone, all possible crystal planes can be derived by means of zones. |
9. A hole in certain punched cards that is punched above the column of holes representing non-zero digits and is used in conjunction with these latter holes to represent non-numerical characters. Usu.
attrib.| 1950 W. W. Stifler High-Speed Computing Devices 149 For alphabetical representations, two perforations in a single column are used for each letter; one of these is a zone punch (0, 11, or 12) while the other perforation is made in the position identifying one of the digits 1 to 9. 1959 M. H. Wrubel Primer of Programming for Digital Computers ii. 33 Alphabetic information is recorded by using two punches in the same column: the upper punch (sometimes called the ‘zone’) is always a 12, 11, or 0. 1970 O. Dopping Computers & Data Processing ii. 44 A letter in the English alphabet is coded with one zone punch (12, 11, or 0) together with one under⁓punch. 1972 W. R. Price Introd. Data Processing vii. 179 The correspondence between the Hollerith zones and the 1401 zones. 1979 Davis & McCormack Information Age vi. 98 Later, when the need for alphabetic data arose, the zone positions, rows 12 and 11, were added. |
10. attrib. and
Comb. a. attrib., chiefly in technical senses:
e.g. in sense 2 b,
esp. in reference to ‘zones’ or regions into which a district or country is divided for purposes of railway or other travelling, etc., as
zone centre,
zone fare,
zone system,
zone tariff; in sense 5, as
zone-clock,
zone-piece,
zone-reticle; in sense 8 b, as
zone-axis,
zone-circle,
zone-plane;
zone-mind;
zone centre,
spec. in
Teleph., an exchange which acts as a main switching centre in an area containing a number of exchange groups;
zone defence (
U.S. defense),
N. Amer. Football and
Basketball, a system of defensive play whereby each player guards an allotted portion of the field of play;
zone electrophoresis, electrophoresis in which a solid but porous medium such as paper is used to ensure that the components remain separated in zones or bands according to their differing electrophoretic mobilities;
zone fossil Geol., a fossil characteristic of a particular zone or belt of strata;
zone leveller, an apparatus used for zone levelling;
zone levelling, a process similar to zone refining in which the molten zone is passed repeatedly to and fro to produce a more homogenous material; so
zone level v. trans.,
-levelled ppl. a.;
zone melting = zone refining below; so
zone-melt v. trans.;
zone plate, a plate of glass marked out into concentric zones or rings alternately transparent and opaque, used like a lens to bring light to a focus;
zone refiner, an apparatus used for zone refining;
zone refining, a method of refining used to produce semiconductors and metals of very high purity by causing narrow zones of molten material to travel slowly along an otherwise solid rod or bar, so that impurities become concentrated at one end or the other if their solubilities in the liquid and the solid phases differ; so
zone-refine v. trans.,
zone-refined ppl. a.;
zone therapy, a technique in which different parts of the feet (or palms) are massaged to relieve conditions in different parts of the body with which they are held to be associated;
zone time, mean solar time at the standard meridian on which the local time zone is based, taken as the standard time throughout the zone (
cf. Zulu time s.v. Zulu n. and a. 6).
b. Comb. (objective, instrumental, parasynthetic, etc.), as
zone-confounding,
zone-like,
zone-tailed adjs.| 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 22 The zone, the *zone axis, and the zone plane are all denoted by the same symbol, namely (U V W). |
| 1934 G. S. Berkeley Traffic & Trunking Princ. in Automatic Telephony i. 12 Level 94..is used for trunk calls instead of level o in the case of exchanges in Trunk *Zone Centres. 1948 [see route v. c]. 1960 R. Syski Congestion Theory in Telephone Systems ii. 53 A suitable exchange (zone centre) is established within each zone to handle the long-distance calls to and from that zone. 1971 Gloss. Electrotechnical, Power Terms (B.S.I.) iii. ii. 8 Zone centre, exchange acting as the main switching centre. |
| 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 32 The poles of all the faces in the same zone will lie in the same *zone circle. |
| 1795 Herschel in Phil. Trans. LXXXV. 398 It would not only be trouble⁓some to the workman, but often bring on mistakes, were he to count the turns of the handle, which perhaps for hours together he is moving; a *zone-clock, therefore, has been contrived to release him from that care... It strikes a bell..when the telescope is come to one of the limits of the zone. |
| 1890 Punch 28 June p. iv, The yellow pod-flowers and the waving palms, the vermeil apples and the primrosed banks, of Camoens' somewhat *zone-confounding vision. |
| 1927 *Zone defense [see sense 2 d above]. 1929 H. C. Carlson You & Basket Ball vi. 128 Zone defense, in which each individual is responsible for a certain zone. 1937 C. Allen Better Basketball xviii. 291 It is to be noticed in charting these penetrating offensive plays against a zone defense that the setup of the offense is identical with that used in penetrating the man-for-man defense. 1970 G. Sullivan Pro Football A to Z 341 Zone defense, a type of pass defense in which each of the three linebackers and four deep backs is assigned to cover a specific area of the field. Zone defense contrasts with man-to-man defense. |
| 1952 Proc. Soc. Exper. Biol. & Med. LXXX. 42 (heading) *Zone electrophoresis in a starch supporting medium. 1964 G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. ii. 23 (caption) The separation of some of the human plasma proteins by zone electrophoresis. 1975 Davis & Simpkins in Williams & Wilson Biologist's Guide to Princ. & Techniques Pract. Biochem. iv. 100 A common feature of the use of all supporting media is that the substances migrate as distinct zones which at the end of the analysis can be readily detected by suitable analytical techniques... The term zone electrophoresis has been applied to this method. |
| 1903 Daily Chron. 18 Dec. 6/3 They proposed to fix *zone fares, and they treated Hammersmith as what they called the zone centre. |
| 1904 *Zone-fossil [see zonal a. 3]. 1969 Bennison & Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles ii. 23 It may be possible to recognize a zone without actually finding a specimen of the zone fossil itself if other highly characteristic species are found. 1975 J. G. Evans Environment Early Man Brit. Isles iii. 69 Evolution needed the temporal and biological continuum which Lyell's theory made possible. And from this came the concept of the ‘zone fossil’. |
| 1953 W. G. Pfann in Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining & Metall. Engineers CXCIV. 752/1 The discussion of zone-melting has been confined to the categories of *zone-leveling and zone-refining. 1956 Bell Syst. Technical Jrnl. XXXV. 657, p fluctuations in zone leveled material are generally coarse. Ibid. 660 A zone leveler has been developed to provide growth conditions suitable for the production of quality germanium single crystals. 1974 Jrnl. Physics D. VII. 33 The mixed alloy was then placed in a porcelain boat and zone-levelled by passing through 10–15 zones. 1978 P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. x. 301 A modification of the technique, zone levelling, is used to introduce controlled amounts of impurity (for example, indium into germanium). |
| 1598 Marston Sco. Villanie i. i, When chast Dictinna, breakes the *Zonelike twist. |
| 1952 W. G. Pfann in Jrnl. Metals IV. 747/1 A number of procedures will be indicated which have in common the traversal of a relatively long charge of solid alloy by a small molten zone. Such methods will be denoted by the general term *zone-melting. 1965 Phillips & Williams Inorg. Chem. I. viii. 305 All such techniques as precipitation, partition, distillation, crystallization, chromatography, and zone-melting are based on phase equilibria. 1982 Materials Lett. I. 33/2 Dielectrically isolated single crystals of large extent may be fabricated by zone melting a thin silicon sheet that is encapsulated between SiO2 layers. 1983 Rev. Sci. Instruments LIV. 385/2 The use of the heater assembly in the specific case of zone melting of mercury cadmium telluride compounds is described. |
| 1932 Blunden Halfway House 55 When gong-like struck The violent crisis of *zone-minds That chilled us with clouds turned winds. |
| 1795 Herschel in Phil. Trans. LXXXV. 385 A *zone-piece, to point out the required limits of the intended zones. |
| 1878 Gurney Crystallogr. 22 The plane to which they [sc. the edges of the crystal] are all perpendicular is called the *zone plane. |
| 1890 T. Preston Theory of Light ix. 178 A *zone plate has therefore the power of a condensing lens. 1937 G. S. Monk Light xii. 167 The intensity of the image produced with a zone plate will be greater if alternate zones are not blocked out but are left transmitting, with a phase difference of one half period introduced between them and adjacent zones. 1978 Sci. Amer. Nov. 65/1 When the zone plate is illuminated with an X-ray plane wave, a converging spherical wave will come out. |
| 1952 W. G. Pfann in Jrnl. Metals IV. 750/2 The particular merit of *zone-refining becomes evident when repeated crystallizations are desired. 1956 ― in Chem. & Engin. News XXXIV. 1443/3 F. Montariol and coworkers..found that zone-refined aluminum cannot be hardened by cold-working. 1962 New Scientist 5 Apr. 813/2 To zone-refine and produce single crystals from such [refractory] materials, N. V. Philips's Gloeilampenfabrieken, Eindhoven,..has developed a carbon-arc image furnace. 1973 J. G. Tweeddale Materials Technol. I. vi. 152 Probably the most effective and generally used method of refining to this kind of standard is zone refining. 1978 P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. x. 301 Bismuth is normally regarded as a hard, brittle metal, yet when it has been zone refined it forms rods which can be bent without fracture. 1983 Metallurgical Trans. A. XIV. 223/2 Straining electrode experiments were performed in zone refined and vacuum melted nickel alloys. |
| 1959 Times 24 Nov. 19/7 It will be possible to obtain high quality single-crystal rods after a few passes in the *zone-refiner. 1980 Analytical Chem. LII. 1738/1 A novel zone refiner is described, in which a single helical heater rotates in an annular sample space. |
| 1876 G. F. Chambers Astron. (ed. 3) 632 Observers..will find a ‘*zone reticle’ of great service. |
| 1903 Daily Chron. 21 Nov. 7/2 Hungary has introduced a *zone system on her railways, which has made travelling on them the cheapest in the world. |
| 1809 Shaw Gen. Zool. VII. 62 *Zone-tailed Eagle. |
| 1891 Econ. Jrnl. I. 507 A system of *zone tariffs. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 153/2 A zone-tariff system..whereby the country is mapped out into zones, and the traveller pays according to the number of these he passes through. |
| 1917 W. H. FitzGerald Zone Therapy xvi. 157 Dr. Roemer..examined him in a characteristic *zone therapy way. He searched the patient's fingers with a metal comb to find out what was the matter with his teeth. 1971 N. Saunders Alternative London xv. 123 Zone Therapy is based on the premise that one zone of the body acts as a microcosm of the whole. 1979 D. E. Bayly in A. Hill Visual Encycl. of Unconventional Med. 61 The origin of the reflex method is obscure. It is said that it came from China to the West... It is known to have been used by the natives of Kenya, and also by some American Indian tribes. At the beginning of this century it was called zone therapy by one Dr Fitzgerald [sic] in America who used it as a form of anaesthesia to render the patient insensible to pain when performing small operations, and to ease childbirth. |
| 1908 H. B. Morse Trade & Admin. Chinese Empire viii. 203 The Eighteen Provinces roughly extend from..longitude 98° to 122° E., comprising the seventh and eighth hours of the *Zone time east of Greenwich. 1930 Daily Express 16 Aug. 1/3 The passengers wonder whether they should retire by Greenwich or zone time. 1981 G. Watkins Exercises in Astro-Navigation ii. 22 A vessel's chronometer or watch is not generally adjusted or altered at any time while the vessel is at sea, but her clock is altered as she moves through each zone in such a way that it should always be indicating the correct Zone Time for the vessel's position. |
▸
colloq. (
orig. U.S. Sport). A state of perfect concentration leading to optimum mental or physical performance. Chiefly with
the,
esp. in
in the zone.
| 1976 San Francisco Chron. 27 Oct. 47/1 Tennis players speak reverently of the mystical atmospheric condition known as ‘The Zone’. Passing shots chip away at the lines, first serves pop in and mistakes simply don't materialize. Arthur Ashe's experience in The Zone during his last Wimbledon championship bordered on the surreal. 1990 New Age Jrnl. Apr. 119/1 Performers, surgeons, or creative artists..find that most important parts of their lives occur when they are ‘in the zone’. 1995 Denver Post 5 Mar. b10/1 Kitt is in a zone, one of those feel-I-can't-lose mind-sets that can propel an athlete to a series of successes. 1997 K. Loggins & J. Loggins Unimaginable Life vii. 253, I feel ideas for the ceremony are pouring out of me and this is the best writing I've done in a long time. After all these years as a writer, I can tell when I'm in the zone, and this is the zone. |
▪ II. zone, v. [f. prec.] 1. trans. To furnish with, or surround like, a zone or girdle; to gird, encircle.
| 1795 Monthly Rev. Dec. 542 Her population..had zoned every hill with vines and with olive-trees. 1795 A. Seward Lett. (1811) IV. 105 Our road zoned the midway of the Alpine steeps which overhung it. 1813 Scott Trierm. ii. iv, Art she invokes to Nature's aid, Her vest to zone, her locks to braid. 1818 Keats Endym. ii. 569, I could hear he lov'd Some fair immortal, and that his embrace Had zoned her through the night. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxviii. (1856) 237 The southeastern horizon is zoned with a mellow uniform band of light. |
2. Nat. Hist. To mark with zones, rings, or bands of colour. (Only in
pa. pple.)
| 1792 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 2) III. 433 Auricularia papyrina... Annual, membranaceous, soft, zoned. 1854 Dana Min. (ed. 4) II. 148 Egyptian Jasper is zoned with colors, and forms nodules. 1871 Darwin Desc. Man ii. xiv. 131 A variety of the common pigeon with the wing-bars symmetrically zoned with three bright shades. |
3. Geol., etc. To divide into zones; to distribute or arrange in zones: see
zone n. 7.
| 1904 Edin. Rev. Jan. 222 The Ordovician and Silurian rocks have been zoned by means of their graptolites. |
4. (
Town)
Planning. To divide (a city, land, etc.) into areas subject to particular planning restrictions; to designate (a specific area) for use or development in this manner.
Occas. intr. Also (
U.S.)
const. out, to forbid (the siting of an enterprise) in a given area.
orig. U.S.| 1916 N.Y. Times 4 Feb. 17/2 The plan to zone the city and regulate the height of buildings. 1919 Melbourne Argus 28 Aug. 6 The question of ‘zoning’ the metropolitan area, or separating the city into districts, in order that regulations may be applied to control the erection of shops and factories near residential sites, has recently been occupying the attention of the Melbourne City Council. 1934 W. H. Heath in E. Betham House Building 1934–36 xviii. 180 There is practically no area around London that is zoned in a reasonable manner. 1939 H. M. Lewis City Planning xvi. 169 All the frontage of main streets was placed in business zones although..only a small fraction of areas so zoned can ever be used for that purpose. 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 26 Mar. i. 9/4 Planners..are concerned that a community will be thoughtfully zoned overall. 1971 P. Gresswell Environment 267 There is no guarantee that land zoned for housing will be released by the landowners. 1975 N.Y. Times 16 Oct. 29/1 A law that would ‘zone out’ massage parlors from the Times Square area on the principle that their proliferation is not sound community planning. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 14 Aug. 7/2 When a municipality zones for industry and commerce for local tax benefits..it..must zone to permit adequate housing within the means of the employes involved in such uses. 1977 Chicago Tribune Mag. 2 Oct. 8/2 At that time, which was before horse racing was zoned out of the city, the track was on Stony Island Avenue near 63rd Street. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) vii. 274 The land, they say, is zoned for agribusiness. |
5. To restrict the distribution of (a commodity) to a designated area; used
spec. concerning the allocation of foodstuffs in the war of 1939–45.
| 1942 Hansard Lords 3 June 103 We have arranged that the deliveries of bread shall be zoned. 1945 Daily Herald 31 Aug. 2/1 (Advt.), Cyder, like many other things, is now zoned to save transport and labour. 1952 Ann. Reg. 1951 394 The Group scheme of the National Film Finance Corporation has been announced. This ‘zoned’ a considerable proportion of British production. |
Hence
ˈzoner, one employed in the application of planning restrictions to particular areas;
ˈzoning ppl. a.| 1853 Alex. Smith Life Drama ii, When first they clasped a Son of God..In zoning heaven of their milky arms. 1865 Tennyson On a Mourner v, When the zoning eve has died. 1962 Punch 6 June 848/2 Planners and zoners won't apparently make up their minds. 1976 Daily Tel. 4 Apr. 3/6 This district contains about 1,000 homes approved by town zoners..after they were assured restrictive deed clauses would make the district a ‘permanent adult community’. |
▸
intr. colloq.to zone in: to head directly for something; to focus or concentrate especially on something. Chiefly with
on,
to.
Cf. home v. 5,
hone v.
4| 1958 Listener 18 Sept. 416/2 We were all getting breakfast..and, bang, another one [sc. hurricane] zoned in. 1972 R. Crawford Whip Hand i. v. 25 He could not hope to zone in even on the secondary target. 1977 N.Y. Times 29 Jan. 13 He talks about ‘zoning in’ on things. 1990 Savvy Woman May 52/1 Videos are also zoning in on hair color. 2004 Independent 14 Sept. 3/4 Zoning in to the jet-set lifestyle should leave you sneering about the boringness of the rich. |
▸
intr. U.S. slang. Probably after
zoned adj. With
out. To relax, to switch off, to detach oneself mentally from one's surroundings; (also) to lose concentration or consciousness, to fall asleep.
| 1982 N.Y. Times 28 Nov. v. 5/1 The highlight of my week was to go..to Ranger games. It had nothing to do with my profession. I could just sit there and zone out. 1989 N.Y. Woman Nov. 84/2, I tried to start up a conversation with a woman on a nearby machine, but she appeared to have zoned out. 1990 Quarterly (U.S.) Winter 83 I'm bushed. I'm beat. I need an hour or so to zone out, to rest myself in this deluxe suite. 2000 M. Gladwell Tipping Point 100 ‘The idea was that kids would sit, stare at the [television] screen, and zone out,’ said Elizabeth Lorch, a psychologist at Amherst College. |